Time was, being an earthling was something special. In a universe full of apparently planetless stars, our colorful solar system seemed like one of a cosmic kind. The planet club became a little less elite last week, however, when astronomers announced the discovery of a Jupiter-like world orbiting a not-too-distant star, a star that could well have an Earth-like planet in its brood too.
The star that's causing all the buzz is 55 Cancri, about the size and age of our sun, located just 41 light-years away. This is not the first time a planet has been seen orbiting the star....
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